Thursday, June 30, 2016

Apparently we have collapsed

Larry Tomczak doesn't like President Obama and he won't like President Clinton because he is a “Christian Nation” theorist. According to Mr. Tomczak (quite verbosely) President Obama has caused the nation to be in “Constitutional Collapse” and “Moral Collapse.” We have pretty much collapsed. It's tragic really. The title of Larry's polemic is “The Prophetic Prayer We Can Pray for Hope After Obama.” Perhaps one has to be a conservative Christian for that to make sense. Perhaps it needs some punctuation. I do not know.

I will spare you the constitutional collapse part of this because it basically boils down to Supreme Court decisions that Tomczak doesn't like. However, the moral collapse part is great fun. Shall we?

Under President Barack Obama, the Judeo-Christian foundation and moral fiber of this nation have disintegrated in an unprecedented way. Although he calls himself a "Christian," his conduct has been consistently contrary to biblical standards, especially in the areas of morality, purity, integrity and decency.

Given the mess that the conservative Christian president left behind; Two wars, loss of the moral high ground internationally, real economic collapse and utter dysfunction, I think that President Obama has distinguished himself. He has been a dedicated father and, frankly, one of the more decent men to occupy the oval office.

Regarding gay marriage, candidate Obama assured Americans of his conviction on the sanctity of marriage as only between a man and a woman. Once elected, he became an aggressive advocate for the LGBTQ agenda, even lighting up the White House in rainbow colors celebrating America as the first nation to ever institutionalize homosexual marriage.

Candidate Obama was for civil unions. Over time he realized the many problems with that approach and it faced (due to the aggressiveness of the Catholic bishops) equal opposition. It took nearly four years for Obama to evolve on the issue. Critical thinkers are willing to change their position on something when evidence supports that change. A number of nations allow for same-sex marriage. I have no idea what Tomczak means. And, yes, he did light up the White House to show his support for an oppressed minority group.

Furthermore, Obama would have nominated the same judges to the Supreme Court. Sotomayor was confirmed in August of 2009 and Kagan was confirmed in August of 2010. Obama did not support marriage equality until May of 2012.

Regarding abortion and the sanctity of human life in the womb, candidate Obama demurred when asked by Pastor Rick Warren about life in the womb. He said it was "above his pay grade." Once elected he revealed himself as a staunch proponent and defender of both abortion (up to the moment of birth) and America's No. 1 abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, even pronouncing, "God bless you!" over their convention!

Roe v. Wade has been the law of the land now for 43 years. There is no evidence to support the claim that Obama is a “proponent” of abortion “up to the moment of birth.” That is just nonsense. And while Christians demonize Planned Parenthood because they do abortions as a small part of their services, they are providing vital care to women in need without regard to getting paid which is usually through Medicaid.

Fulfilling the "wish list" of LGBTQ advocates, he issued a directive for public schools to allow transgender students access to any bathrooms and showers they wish or risk loss of federal funding; "transformed" the military to align with the LGBTQ agenda; appointed the first openly homosexual secretary of the United States Army in U.S. history; and lifted the ban on transgender troops on July 1. Need more be said?

The President did not issue any such directive. The Department of Education issued guidance on providing access to transgender children. Eric Fanning is eminently qualified to be secretary of the army. Only a bigot would object to his service on the basis of his sexual orientation. John McCain called his sexual orientation “an unrelated issue” to his qualifications. He was confirmed by the Republican controlled US Senate by a unanimous voice vote. The services are lifting the ban on transsexual service. That was a decision made by the Joint Chiefs. So what?

Throughout his presidency, Obama has communicated a narrative equating civil rights and gay rights as one and the same. He recently designated the first national gay rights monument at Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York. "From Selma to Stonewall" is the favorite revisionist mantra he's often used.

They are the same. Rep. John Lewis, the last living “Big Six” civil rights leader says that they are the same. So did Julian Bond. So does the NAACP. Martin Luther King demonstrated that he was not a homophobic bigot by his close association with Bayard Rustin (who made valuable contributions to the Civil Rights movement).

I've watched the pro-gay documentary, "Stonewall Uprising" where they state clearly those doing the rioting were the angry, gay street kids, barflies and prostitutes. These were not peaceful, civil rights advocates singing, "We Shall Overcome," seeking the right to vote and equality in buses, schools, restaurants, theaters and bathrooms.

That is right. You can add some drag queens to the mix as well. Nevertheless they had their fill of police harassment because they were gay. They were not society's choice citizens and that is part of the point that Tomczak and his ilk can never understand. They started a movement. We do not judge which citizens are entitled to Equal Protection. While Tomczak is waving the American flag he fails to appreciate that Constitutional rights and protections apply to all—even citizens that he disapproves of. Even prostitutes and drag queens.

There are many citizens who Tomczak disapproves of. If the right buttons are pressed he would probably reveal his anti-Semitism as well. In the final analysis Larry Tomczak is a bigot and he is proud of his bigotry.